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EBay Mulling Skype Sale

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the do-you-hear-that-flushing-sound dept.

MaineCoasts writes "The Financial Times reports that eBay's new CEO is evaluating a sale of Skype if new ways cannot be found for the fast-growing service to support its core e-commerce business. EBay reported earlier this week that Skype had a 61 percent increase in first-quarter revenue over the same quarter last year and now has 309 million users worldwide."

2 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The window is closing fast. by smclean · · Score: 5, Informative

    Let's hope they don't and Skype dies a quiet death!

    We can all use SIP and not pay tribute for a proprietary protocol.. and we can use whatever client we want rather than an annoying proprietary one.

    Skype's business model is lock-in.. Die Die Die!

    Someone had to say it, this *is* slashdot..

    --

    "'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."

  2. The Financial Times Says that the CEO says... by ageedoy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well the CEO says:

    Q. I read in the Financial Times that we may sell Skype. That if the synergies are strong, we'll keep it in our portfolio. If not, we'll reassess it. Is this true?

    We have no plans to sell Skype... and why would we? As I said in the story, it's a great business with a great purpose -- enabling the world's conversations. With a new president, our plan for Skype is to focus on providing the best possible user experience and continuing the incredible growth momentum we've enjoyed with Skype for the past four years.

    To be clear, I've fully supported big investments in Skype, including removing the earn-out, and bringing over some top talent like Josh. I think this business has tremendous potential that we've only started to tap. Josh and I are both excited about the prospects ... our job now is to make sure we continue to build on Skype's successes and grow its passionate community of users.

    http://ebayinkblog.com/2008/04/18/john-donahoe-talks-to-ebay-ink/